Page 54 of The Demon of the Wood

“You are a fool,” she said, and the man startled. “He has no crimes to answer for, but your Hunters have many. May the gods spare none of you any mercy when it is your time to face their judgement.”

The men fell quiet, her uncle glaring and looking at her as if he’d never properly seen her before. Old Melina would never have said the things she was saying, but she did now. The commander of the Hunters nodded to his men, and they advanced, tying Kaemon up, him unable to fight against them though he tried. Tears streamed down her face as she watched, her heart aching, her body feeling so distant and unreal to her.

Hadn’t it just been that morning that they awoke in each other’s arms, certain everything was fine and wonderful? How drastically her world had changed in that time, how horrifying this new reality felt. She would pinch herself to see if she needed to wake, but she feared this was the awakening, this was the price of her bliss.

They threw Kaemon on a cart attached to a horse, and his head lolled to the side. He was mumbling something, but she couldn’t make it out, not until she passed nearby. Then she heard it. He muttered her name repeatedly. A strangled sob escaped her, and her vision became blurry from tears.

twenty-nine

Kaemon

Melina,Melina,Melina.

Kaemon didn’t know if he said that or only thought it, his mind racing and anxious, his entire body like raw nerves, trying to seek her out, to know that she was safe. Kaemon ached with each rumble of the cart, the feeling of the rope on his wrists cutting in and making him bleed. It was laced with something, as the arrow had been, that made him dizzy and weak, slowing his healing abilities. He should have saved her. He’d been so weak, unable to move, his mind dipping in and out of consciousness as it did now.

She was going to be abused by her uncle and cousins again because of his inability to save her. When she came to him, he should have left her alone. He’d become complacent, seeing the threats as less than they actually were. He should never have bonded with her, making this split feel like a greater agony than any number of arrows could.

He tried to take in his surroundings as they moved, to memorize them and form a plan of escape. He could still hear the dripping of water in that cave long ago, feel the damp coolness all around him, never able to be dry, never able to be warm, and panic settled over him like being held under water. His mind was too muddled to make much of where he was or what they were doing. He only knew they climbed hills and descended, the men chatting and laughing, filling his ears with their hatred and evil.

The sun moved across the sky with them, and he assumed that meant they were going west. He knew that was towards Orc Haven. The likelihood of him running into friends was little to none, though, and even less so than any that would try or be able to get him out of this.

He blinked, trying to clear his eyes, trying to focus better and find Melina. The Hunter had been holding her to him, and the anger that lit his bond on fire had been almost enough for him to get up. He’d felt that old power in him stirring, but it was too muted by the poison, as if it were asleep, trying to rouse and unable to.

The sky flashed overhead, bright and blue, white clouds forming and moving. He had spent so long in that cave before, never seeing the sky, never feeling the air on his wings. Terror coiled around him, engulfing him, tightening like a vice grip. He had to get out of here and save Melina. He jerked about, sitting up. A man slugged him across the jaw, making him fall back, his head full of stars. Melina cried out, and he heard a tussle and the men telling her to quiet down. He couldn’t move. That effort alone had taken so much energy, and he could barely feel his limbs anymore. He only felt like a dead weight laying there. A slab of meat.

They came to a forest; the pines looming above. They travelled for a bit, and the wildlife went eerily quiet, knowing predators had entered their presence. The men set up camp, two guarding him as the others worked.

Melina was yanked off the horse and bound. The man, Gregory, grabbing her wrists and tugging her close to him. Kaemon growled and jerked, and Gregory looked over at him, grinning. He traced a finger along Melina’s cheek and neck, his eyes on Kaemon the entire time.

Kaemon found his strength again, lurching forward, the men guarding him grasping his shoulders and pushing him down. He should be so much stronger than them, but his limbs felt like moss drifting with the current and all he could do was cry out, his voice like a roar. The men shouted and more came over, pulling him down as he struggled against them in vain.

Melina gazed at him, her eyes red from crying, streaks staining her cheeks. Gregory pulled her closer, her braid jolting behind her with the rough movement, and his face came close to hers even as she strained away. Kaemon struggled against his restraints again, to no avail.

“Stop antagonizing the beast!” one man yelled at Gregory.

He didn’t listen. Gregory slammed his lips to Melina’s. She bit down hard, and he stepped back with a cry, blood streaming from his lower lip.

Kaemon made a satisfied grunt. Gregory drew his hand back to slap Melina, but the Hunter who had taken her grabbed him by the wrist.

“Calm down, leave the woman alone.”

Gregory stepped back, wiping his mouth and fixing Melina with a look that held a deadly promise. But Melina only glared at him, resolute. The Hunter took her by the arm and guided her away. She turned her head, looking at Kaemon as she walked, her eyes blinking and big, worry lining every feature of her face.

The men continued to hold him down as the others grabbed logs and set up a cage for him, like a dog. They fashioned the cage around a tree, and dragged him in, wrapping chains about his body, his wrists, and tying him to the trunk.

“You’ll get what you deserve, you piece of shit,” the man who tied him up said. “You think you can take our women and do as you please to them?”

He spit on Kaemon, and Kaemon had no ability to flinch or care.

“Is she well?” Kaemon asked.

That was all he cared about, all he could think of.

The man sneered, crouching to get right in Kaemon’s face. “Tell me, how did you do it?”

Kaemon frowned. “Do what?”

“Get her to think she loves you. Did you drug her? That kind of drug could catch a pretty penny at the market.” The man laughed, and Kaemon snarled, spitting back on the man’s face.

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